Man paid $70,000 to store stolen Corvette for 23 Years ... then confessed

A mint-condition Corvette stolen from a San Diego car dealership 23 years ago has sold on eBay for the original sticker price -- with the original sales sticker still on the window.

The cherry-red 1989 convertible, with only 67 miles on the odometer, was won Sunday on eBay by Mike Robertson, a Newport Beach advertising executive.

It's to be delivered Monday.

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According to reports, an 'Irish immigrant' was 'coerced by gangsters' to steal a brand new Corvette 23 years ago and then put it in storage where it ran up a $70,000 bill. Corky Rice recently sold the car on eBay

New owner Mike Robertson and his Corvette. Amazingly, the car only needed four new tires. Even the original battery still worked

Police recovered the Corvette in
September in a San Diego self-storage unit after the suspected thief
stopped paying the monthly fee.

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According to the LA Times, the unidentified man told authorities that he was 'coerced by gangsters into stealing the car and storing it.'

AOL Cars would only identify the car thief as an 'Irish immigrant.'

The car was sold by the insurer and a wholesaler posted it on eBay.

The
final price, with delivery fee, was $39,471. That's the manufacturer's
suggested retail price posted on the original windshield sticker.

The car was still had the original MSRP sticker on the window when Rice sold it for the car's original price in 1989

The insurance company that long ago reimbursed the dealership for the Corvette sold the recovered car, with 67 miles on its odometer.

It was purchased by Glendale wholesale car manager Corky Rice, who posted it for sale on eBay.

Robertson said that he had always dreamed of buying a car and storing it. 'Somebody else did it for me,' he said. 'This is a time capsule.'

Amazingly, the car only needed four new tires. Even the original battery still worked.

The final price of the Corvette, including the fee for its delivery on Monday to Newport Beach, will come out to about $39,471 -- the manufacturer's suggested retail price printed on the windshield sticker, Rice said.